The Artemis II mission to travel around the far side of the Moon over a 10-day period is yet another leap forward for mankind.
The mission, scheduled to land off the San Diego coast early Friday evening, should make all Americans take notice.
Three Americans and one Canadian blasted off into space a week ago, hoping to set the stage for mankind to set foot again on the Moon in the coming years.
As someone who was four years old when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon back in 1969, the American space program has always been inspirational to me.
The first vivid memory I have in my mind as a kid was sitting on the floor with family and watching on a big black and white television as Armstrong walked on the Moon.
In 37 years of being a journalist, I’ve had opportunities to cover notable events and meet a number of famous people from a variety of walks of life.
One of those people I met early on in my career was none other than Armstrong.
I was a young reporter back home and had a chance to cover a celebrity golf tournament.
As someone who loves a variety of sports, I was most excited at the thought of meeting some pro football, baseball and basketball players from my childhood and young adult years. In scrolling down the press list of those planning to attend that day, I came across a non-athlete, but definitely equally or even more famous than anyone else on the list.
As I walked the golf course looking to interview different celebrities, there he was.
While I’m often not at a loss for words, as anyone who knows me will tell you, I lost the ability to speak for a few seconds.
Next thing I know, this older man reaches out his hand to shake mine. All I could blurt out at the time was, “Mr. Armstrong, it is an honor to meet you.”
I was so taken by the moment that I did not realize my staff photographer had snuck up around me and pointed his camera in our direction. Keep in mind, this was before taking selfies with your cell phone was the norm.
To this day, I honestly do not remember much of the brief conversation I had with Armstrong.
While I’m sure Armstrong shook many hands over the years, no one in my inner circle of family and friends can say they met the first man to make such notable history many miles from Earth.
As we push forward to the present day, many of us are closely following the current space mission.
And with it, maybe some other young reporter will at some point get to shake the hands of these current space explorers.
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